Assault, a battery and the domino effect
by Toni Harrison
Summary: When events spiral, will they come together or fall apart.It's mainly Danny/Steve with some Chin and Kono. It's a bit of a will they/won't they too with some hurt Danny into the equation. SLASH warning too.


Assault, a Battery and The Domino Effect.

Warnings: A bit of bad language and don't read if you have issues with the suggestion of a relationship between two characters of the same sex. (please note I've gone with a T warning but wasn't sure whether to go with M though there's nothing strong - please let me know if you think I should re-rate).

Disclaimer: All Hawaii Five-0 characters herein are the property of CBS. No copyright infringement is intended.

NB. I wrote this as part of the H50 Exchange Fic challenge on livejournal. I've linked it in my profile page as there's some amazing fics there so go take a look. I hope to get back to other writing soon including Hello Darkness but london marathon in 2 weeks so a bit busy till then. Thanks.

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><p>He's at his desk, just turning the object over and over in his fingers. He doesn't even notice he's doing it initially until he misses one finger and it clatters to the surface of the desk. He starts a little and stares at it. Just one domino. Pursing his lips, he glares at the cell in front of him. He picks it up and goes to press a button before stopping and slamming the phone back onto the desk. This knocks the domino onto the floor, he reaches down and picks it up, it's a double one. In Domino terms, it's pretty much perfection. And that just about sums it up, so he decides to stop acting the idiot for once and before he can stop himself, he's picked up the phone, pressed the speed dial and he just can't wait to hear that voice. Talk about a Domino effect.<p>

Central Honolulu – a couple of days before

It's typical of Hawaii and his time in Hawaii really that the first time he decides to venture out on his own - and this means really on his own, without any of his buddies - he's now kissing the concrete and aching all over. Well, in between the periods that he's dead to the world anyway.

He thinks for a moment he can hear the vibrating of his cell but in the fog that's his brain at the moment, he remembers they took that. Along with his wallet and for some ridiculous reason, his belt. He coughs a little and remembers then the reason they took his belt in the first place. These guys were into some grade A S&M as they'd used it to beat his back.

He's probably only about 10 seconds from the main sidewalk but it might as well be hours and he knows he can't move any time soon so he swallows and tries the half-hearted 'help' again. Steve will have his ass when he gets out of this. He almost smiles before he then remembers why he was here alone in the first place and he sighs. Boy, that hurts. He attempts another shout, which fails again. He gingerly lifts his head from the ground and notices the dumpsters around him and tries to think of something he can throw to make the noise he needs. Nothing. Zip. Nada. Great.

He's just about to sink into the pit of despair and unconsciousness when Cupid in the form of two drunken people stumbles into the alley, just the other side of the dumpster. There's all kinds of fumbling and groaning going on and it's probably the least sexy thing he's heard in his life but it's also the most magical thing as help may almost be at hand.

With a superhuman effort, he croaks out, 'Please help me' and they stop for a moment and he hears the woman ask, 'What was that?' to which the man responds something pretty unromantic.

The lights are fading fast and with that sense of panic somehow giving him a renewed strength in the one word he manages to get out, his descent into unconsciousness is made slightly gentler by the sweet sound of running feet and urgent words.

The same time - H50 HQ

'You go talk to him then, he'll listen to you,' he says.

'Ha, no way, Cuz. Don't be such a wuss, talk man to man. It's the best language, perhaps the only one he knows.' Kono is almost pushing Chin into Steve's office.

They both spiral back on their heels as the object of their frantic whispering barrels his way past them. He looks a little calmer but given his face had been as red as the most volatile volcano before, it wasn't saying an awful lot.

'Uh, boss, everything okay?' she ventures, instantly cursing herself for the banality of her question.

He turns at her question. For a moment he looks angry but as he casts a look towards Danny's office, his shoulders slump.

'I fucked up didn't I?' It sounds like a question but neither Chin nor Kono respond. 'He won't pick up his cell. In fact, I tried a few minutes ago and it's dead. I've fucked up and now he'll head back to the mainland and I'm an idiot.'

'Not an idiot, Steve.' Chin's stood by him, hand on his shoulder. 'Just an impetuous hothead who has a partner with a little bit of a warm head too.'

Steve smiles and laughs a little and the tension is broken just like that.

'He'll be okay, boss,' says Kono. 'And if he doesn't, he's got us to deal with.'

He's about to respond when the phone in his office rings. There's a grin shared between them all and then Steve heads to pick it up, expecting Danny. As he answers then listens to the voice on the other end, instead of the expected smile and relieved laughter, his face darkens. Another few seconds and he sets the phone back down. Picking up his jacket, he doesn't look at them and just says one word: 'Hospital.'

Queens Medical Center, Honolulu

Kono's pretty sure that Steve broke every speed limit in the short distance it took to reach the hospital. It's a good thing it's the middle of the night. He barks out, 'Park it' just before he leaps out the car and heads inside.

She sighs and pulls her hands through her hair. 'I'll park it then, shall I, boss?' Chin's gone to where Danny was found.

A couple of minutes later and she heads into the main reception area where Steve is pacing up and down. He sees her and manages a tiny smile.

'They tell you anything?' she asks.

'Yeah, he's just been transferred to a room and his doctor will be down to see us once he's settled.' He appears to be about to say something else as he keeps opening and closing his mouth then taking a breath before he gives up and sighs loudly. She lets this happen three more times before she's had enough.

'Boss, come on, spit out. It's doing you no good caught up in that brain of yours, whatever it is.'

He shakes his head.

'Nah, its Danny I need to speak to and yet it's Danny who's the last person I can speak to about it.'

She's just about to attempt some kind of pearl of wisdom which she could dish out to most people she knows, but Steve's not most people. Luckily she's saved by the appearance of a middle aged woman in a white coat.

'Hi, I'm Doctor Gray.' She offers her hand to both Kono and Steve. 'Shall we?' She gestures towards a room just down the corridor from the reception area.

Steve casts a sidelong glance at Kono and the butterflies creep around ever more in her stomach.

In the room, they all sit down, though Steve's right leg bounces up and down as the nerves betray him.

'Your colleague, Daniel Williams? Well, he's one lucky guy, not to say he's unscathed because frankly he's not and he'll be in here for several days but it could've been a whole lot worse.' She looks down at the notes in front of her.

In the time while the doctor checks her notes, Kono expects Steve to speak, to say something, but as she looks at him, his eyes are shut and he's mouthing something. She can't make it out and she's about to reach out to touch him to bring him back from wherever he is when the Doctor speaks again and Steve jumps a little. So not like Steve.

'He has severe concussion, three broken ribs, a broken arm and lacerations to his abdomen and back. Despite all this, he's pretty coherent so he'll be able to give a statement.'

Steve's back with them. 'Thanks, Doc, can we go see him now? Not for a statement, just to see how he is?'

She nods and appears ready to speak before she hesitates and looks again at her notes. 'You can, but I did have a request from Mr. Williams. Are you Steve McGarrett?' He nods.

Dr. Gray purses her lips slightly. 'I'm afraid Mr. Williams has asked that you don't go to see him at this time. He didn't say any more but he was pretty definite.'

Kono can't bring herself to look at Steve but to be fair she doesn't really get the chance as within a second, the table's upturned and the door torn open and he's gone. She raises her eyebrows at Dr. Gray. Oh yeah, another day in the life of times spent with Steve McGarrett.

* * *

><p>Chin has to hand it to Danny. The alleyway just off Dillingham Boulevard and one of the not quite so select bars in town is certainly not classy. And the dumpster trucks and trash cans upturned bear witness to that.<p>

The couple stands in front of him. Well, stands is perhaps too much of an exaggeration. The lady is propped up against the guy, who's just had to disappear behind the squad car in the alley to bring back his alcohol consumption of that night in the worst way possible. They are breathing all over him now, and man, it isn't pretty.

'Can we go already?' Apparently the spirit of goodwill that the couple had afforded Danny in their helping him is fast receding, and really, he can't blame him. Over two hours since they'd found Danny and called the HPD and he is only just about to take a brief statement from them now.

He puts on his most disarming smile and the woman smiles back, attempting hers too. He's sure that just a few years back, she was a knockout. The hair that should've been rebleached too long ago, the clothes that barely fit and the yellow, gap-toothed smile don't tell the same story now.

'Soon, I just need to take a few details.' And so begins ten minutes of monosyllabic answers and the only hint of animation comes from the man when he describes the bloody state Danny was in.

There are no witnesses and suddenly Chin feels tired and wishes he was anywhere but here. He thanks the couple in his best impression of sincerity when he doesn't feel like being that way at all and asks the HPD cop dawdling around playing on his cell to take them back home.

Just as he's about to call Kono, the officers from the other squad car in the alley join him.

'Hey, Chin.' He's known Officer Malapua since they were in the academy together. They shake hands. 'The victim's part of Five-0 too, right?'

Chin nods and the officer continues. 'We traced back the steps from the Boulevard. There's CCTV cameras all alongside the sidewalk from the club that's just round the corner. One of the bar guys says someone matching Williams' description was in here. He said he left about 2 hours ago. If we're lucky, we get the perps on there too.'

Suddenly, things look brighter. 'Thanks, Mally. You let me know as soon as you've looked at the tapes, right?'

'You got it brah.' And with that he's gone. He's about to call Kono and Steve when she beats him to it.

'Hey cuz, it was looking like total bust here, no clues etc., for Danny's blood, and the only witnesses are currently barfing into a paper bag in the back of an HPD unit, but we think we may have CCTV.'

'Nice brah, we got a problem though,' and she fills him in. First about Danny's condition and then his request. 'I'm gonna go up and see Danny and find out what's going on. You go see if you can find Steve.'

He's about to reply that he'd rather be searching for a needle in the biggest haystack in the land but she knows this and before he can reply, 'Good luck' is all she says, and with that he gets into his car as operation 'let's find Steve' begins.

Queens Medical Center

When he thinks back to the many hard decisions he's had to take in his life, the first one being to leave the mainland, the second being to leave his child behind every time he left her with her mom and Stan, the third being sticking it out in Hawaii to clear Steve's name instead of meeting Rachel and Gracie at the airport, the decision to ask that Steve not come and see him shouldn't rank higher than any of those other things, it really shouldn't, but right now it feels almost as huge as the almighty headache he has pounding in his skull. It's like a stadium full of drummers are constantly battering away at the drums but the stadium is in his head and the crowd is already making an unholy racket too.

He reaches for the kidney shaped bowl in front of him and retches into it again. He stopped vomiting properly 20 minutes ago. In a way it was preferable to this.

He starts to cough and with the pain in his ribs and the fresh stitches in his back pulling as he tries to reach the water jug, he's about to sob with frustration when the door creaks open. He tenses a little but relaxes as he sees it's Kono. She looks serious but her face softens as she sees the bandage on his head and the small butterfly dressings on his face where his face had made contact with the gravel, and she bestows a sympathetic smile upon him, pouring some water into a cup which he accepts gratefully.

She sits on the chair beside him. There's silence for a minute or so and he knows the question's coming so he pre-empts it.

'Okay, ask me then. I know you want to.'

'What happened, Danny?' It's not the question he was expecting. Well, actually it's quite a reasonable question but it's just not the first one he expected. So he blinks a little. And he detects a ghost of a smile on her face, which she does well to disguise almost immediately.

'Steve acted like an asshole, I got drunk, I got clobbered, and then the last thing I hear before they knock me out is that I was a stupid tourist on a vacation with a stupid tie and stupid shoes.'

She laughs but tries to stifle it. 'Can't say we didn't warn you, brah.'

'HAHA, funny. Any clues yet or the case closed before it's even started?'

'Chin just called – they hope they got security cameras at least on the sidewalk. It's the best we can hope for.' Danny nods. Last time he goes out on his own again in that part of town in this stupid place.

There's another silence and Kono doesn't appear to be in a hurry to ask THE question and his head is throbbing and actually he needs to talk before he goes crazy.

'So, did he tell you what happened?'

Kono shakes her head. 'He didn't.'

Danny lets out a bitter laugh before remembering that it actually hurts a little when he moves his body. He shifts a little in his bed, making himself just slightly more comfortable 'A battery. It all started over a battery.'

Kono raises an eyebrow. 'Go on.'

_'Seriously, Danny, if you don't give me back the battery in the next 30 seconds, I swear to god..' Steve's threat never goes further. It doesn't need to._

_Danny stifles a laugh again. He's done this several times today and every time Steve's caught the strangled sound and the looks are getting more evil._

_It doesn't help that they've just had to deal with time wasters who'd reported their child missing when in actual fact, they'd hidden the kid in a closet in their basement. Danny's still not sure how Steve figured this out when he's not the parent, but what seemed like could be a horrible day with the potential of an even worse outcome, at least wasn't going to be tragic for that reason anyway. Danny's just glad they were able to call HPD to take them away and charge them with being idiots._

_Steve being in this bad a mood doesn't bode well for their 'team building' night or as Kono put it 'Any excuse to get completely drunk.'. It also doesn't bode well for the conversation he's been promising himself he'd have with Steve to finally make a lot of things more clear and to see where he stood. In truth he's about as nervous as he was in the days leading up to proposing to Rachel and in the days before Gracie was born. And just as he was on both occasions, he's bubbling with excitement too._

_All this thinking's done him no good though as apparently it's wasted the entire 30 seconds Steve had given him, and Steve's as good as his word as he glances across at him and Steve's face is a dark shade of purple. He's not sure he's ever seen Steve this mad before. Over a battery? Nah, got to be more to it._

_'Seriously, Danno, what the hell?' With that, Steve reaches across to him and starts patting him like he's some kind of suspect. There's a part of Danny which is all kinds of annoyed with what's going on right now, and yet here he is getting patted down by Steve. He's conflicted and has an overwhelming urge to do something really silly. The glimpse of something small, square and reflecting off the light shining through the window distracts him though._

_'Uh, Steven.' He's ignoring him though and huffing and puffing in the way he does. So he practically yells, 'STEVEN!'_

_Steve actually looks shocked for a moment at his name being shouted so loudly. He snaps, 'WHAT?'_

_Danny just points at the door and the shelf and there it is. The battery._

_Steve makes a small sound. 'Huh?' And for a moment there's a feeling of concern there as he wonders how Steve couldn't have realised it was there. Maybe Steve fell over at his place that morning, maybe too much water leaked into his brain while doing his Ninja swim. Nah, just Steve being an idiotic asshole AGAIN._

_Steve's shoulders slump a little. But Danny recognises it for the release of tension which it undoubtedly is. It's not failed to escape his notice that Steve's still not released one hand from his chest. And it feels good there. The urge comes again and it's getting harder to bat it away._

_He's saved by Steve's move towards the shelf. Somehow or other as he leans forward though, his hand ends up on the top half of Danny's leg and even though in his head he knows, or at least he thought he did, that Steve's feelings aren't the same as Danny's, his heart's jabbing away at him and telling him different._

_As Steve retrieves the battery, he moves the hand from Danny's leg and the moment's gone. He watches intently as Steve puts his cell back together. There's silence, and maybe it's just Danny imagining it, but there's a new tension, completely different from that which was there before._

_Steve goes to start the car again but pauses. He half turns his head towards Danny. And man, it almost takes his breath away. He's all eyelashes and shy smile. And if Danny's not badly mistaken, he even appears to be blushing. 'Sorry Danno, I acted like an idiot.' He pauses. 'Over a battery.' He laughs a little. And looks Danny in the eye. 'You forgive me?'_

_And hell yeah, Danny so does. And before common sense can stop him and before he can think about what he's about to do, he reaches forward, pulls Steve towards him, and their lips are about to meet._

_'What the hell?'_

_And after that, well, it's pretty much white noise. White noise McGarrett style. It's all a bit of a blur what's said. All he knows is that it's a pretty long walk back to H50 and apparently 'team building' is off the menu._

_He could cry. He could laugh. He could do with calling his mom. He wishes he was anywhere but here so he decides to do none of these things and instead it's time to go drink._

Danny shrugs.

'Oh boy.' Kono's shaking her head. 'You did it this time, brah.'

He doesn't say anything. There are no words. That's completely untrue, of course. There's so much to say but the one person he's got all this to say to, he can't and won't risk it.

He shuts his eyes. His head's beginning to hurt more now and tears are beginning to form. He feels a hand grasp his and he opens his eyes and smiles gratefully at Kono.

'Why did you stop him from seeing you, Danny?' He tries to ignore her and is about to attempt the start of a conversation about anything other than one Steve McGarrett and his own 'feelings.' It's not Oprah after all. He'd forgotten about the fact that Kono's fast gaining a reputation for her superb interrogation skills.

'Do you love him? And you're afraid you may admit that if you saw him?'

He both loves and hates her at this moment. 'Nothing like cutting to the chase, huh, Officer Kalakaua?' She's smiling, sort of, but remains silent. Oh well, here goes nothing.

'Yeah, I do. I love him. There, I've said it.' He pauses. 'But I love you, I love Chin, I love Max, I adore Gracie. Does he drive me crazy with the way he behaves and the way he's so anal about ridiculous things? The fact he never pays attention to traffic regulations, the fact that he ALWAYS has to drive, the fact that he always wears those dark vests, the fact that he treats Gracie like his own child, the fact that he cared more than anyone else about me when Rachel went back home without me, the fact that everything he does just drives me crazy but I couldn't be without him?' He pauses. 'What was the question again? You're the cop, Kono, you tell me.'

She looks ready to speak and state the obvious when Danny interrupts her. 'Did he seem upset when the doctor told him?' He's surprised at his own nervous tone.

'Let's just say, one table and one chair will be feeling a little sore today.' Taking in the pallor of his face and how tired he suddenly looks, she strokes his hand. 'Chin's gone to find him, don't worry.'

He nods. And he worries.

Kapi'Olani Park

Chin finds Steve surprisingly quickly. Then again, when you have the impressive might of Kamekona and his band of spies in Hawaii, you're never likely to be missing for long.

He finds him in a corner of the park. Surrounded by older men, some playing backgammon, others dominoes. And a group of children nearby are playing a game of Jenga.

Steve's just staring into space. He's got an object which Chin recognises as a domino that he's moving between each finger, and his leg is moving up and down fast. He knows Steve too well to catch him by surprise so he coughs a little. And Steve looks up. He smiles at him. Well, that's something anyway.

'Kono send you?' His face suddenly looks terrified. 'Is Danny okay?'

'Yeah, she did but I spoke to her a couple of minutes agom and calm down, he's fine. In fact, he's been asking after you as well.'

Steve's snort is probably louder than he intended as a couple of the other men look up. He mutters an apology in their direction.

'You don't have to protect me, Chin. I've blown it and if I'm lucky, I'll get to see him once before he heads back to New Jersey and maybe he'll let me apologise.' Steve's face is downcast. That's an understatement; he looks like he's just been told he's lost a million and found a dime.

'Are you going to carry on feeling sorry for yourself or are you going let me talk to you about it?' Chin's tone is gentle but insistent.

'He tried to kiss me, told me he loved me and then I threw it back in his face.' He shakes his head and looks up at Chin. 'Truth is, I don't know what to do. The guy drives me crazy. He won't wear slippers, he even calls them flip-flops, he always wears ties and he won't quit moaning about this beautiful place, yet when I'm not around him it gets boring so quickly and I don't laugh as much as I do. In fact, I've never laughed as much as I do around him.' He's not finished but it's only been 18 hours since it happened and he's not even sure how he feels or how he wants to feel right now.

'I've never thought I'm gay, Chin. I love Cat, always have and I always will, and I think she's so amazing but is she THE ONE? I don't know but is Danny the one?' He blows out a breath. 'That's off the scale hard to answer.'

Chin's silent for about a minute. It feels like an hour.

'Who's saying you have to declare your love for him now, brah? Did he tell you that you had to declare your love there and then, otherwise the game's off, a once in a lifetime opportunity?'

Steve offers no response.

'Danny took a risk and right now, he probably feels rejected, embarrassed and scared. Hell, I feel scared that if you two don't play this right and like adults, Five-0 is finished.' Steve looks aghast at the suggestion so Chin holds up a hand. 'Let me finish. You ARE both adults and Danny already wants to see you so I know you won't let that happen. Now I honestly have no idea on what I'd do but take a day, take several if you need to, but don't see him yet. Think about it, think about what you could lose in Catherine and Danny or both but think about what you could gain from Danny too.'

'I dunno, Chin. I see you and Malia and I don't know if I could have that with Danny, Catherine or anyone.'

Chin scoffs a little. 'Take me back to before you came home. My life's changed so much. You did this for me, Steve. I owe you and I love you and Danny. I want you both to be happy, apart or together, I don't care. I just want this fixed. You can have what Malia and I have, you just have to believe in it enough.'

'When did you get to be so full of wisdom, Chin Ho Kelly?' Steve teases. And right there, that's when Chin knows it's going to be okay.

'You okay?' he asks simply.

Steve shrugs. 'Not right now, but give me some time. Please tell him to give me some time?' And with a pat on Chin's shoulder, he stands up and he's gone.

* * *

><p><span>A couple of days later – Danny's apartment<span>

'I'll be fine, honestly, Kono.' He waves her off in her car and finally he's alone. With his thoughts. Which isn't a good thing and he has to resist opening the door and running after Kono screaming for her to come back.

Two days of not seeing or hearing anything from Steve. Two days of hearing Chin talk positively about what Steve had had to say and that he'd come round. Nothing yet.

Danny's never been patient. He has to fight the urge to phone Steve but he's not going to push. Not yet. In the end he'll do whatever it takes to save their friendship, to save Five-0, but right now he's too raw.

His injuries? Well, the ribs are beginning to feel a little stronger though it'll take time, and his back's sore but beginning to itch already and though it's driving him crazy, this is good apparently. His head, well, it aches as much as it did on the first moment he woke up and he feels as nauseous as he did then too, but really he wonders how much of this is the effect of the injury, or the effects of Steve. Jeez, now he's making him sound like some kind of disease. The infectious kind? Most definitely.

The good news is that they're close to nailing at least two of the three guys who attacked Danny. Known perps as it happens and Danny really was mistaken for a tourist and he's missing the fun Steve would be getting out of this. He's just missing Steve. Plain and simple.

Right now, he feels grubby and smelling of hospital so he heads for a shower. He's lost in thought and so wrapped up, he doesn't hear his cell ring several times repeatedly.

It's half an hour later when he's finally out of the shower and dressed and feeling a whole lot more respectable. He heads straight to his fridge and expects nothing but a smell of rotten food. To his surprise when he opens it, there's food everywhere. And freshly made malasadas are on the counter. He makes a note in his head to remind him to thank Kono when he sees her. Yeah, a concussed man'll remember that well.

He's about to launch an attack on the malasadas when he sees a light on his cell flashing. He's just picking it up when there's a banging on the door. And his heart jumps a little. He knows that sound. Suddenly he's nervous and wishes he had a mirror by the door. He's like a prom date waiting for a beau to turn up. Idiot, he scolds himself. He tries frantically in his head to search for some sarcastic line but the continued banging on the door and the banging in his head takes all reasonable thought away from him so he simply opens the door and it's strange, it's literally been a couple of days and yet his breath's taken away.

Steve stands there, hand poised ready to thump away at the door again, and he almost falls on Danny with the momentum before he catches himself. He puts one finger to Danny's lips and shakes his head frantically. 'Please don't say anything smart, don't be sarcastic, let me speak.'

From somewhere Danny summons up the strength to nod.

'I've been thinking so much these past couple of days. I've been so worried about you and wanted to come help you so much. I've not slept. I wanted to call Cat and ask her to marry me. I wanted to go to the hospital and beat you senseless myself, but instead I went shopping and bought you food and masaladas. There's so many emotions inside of me and I'm not emotional. You made me emotional, Danny, and then I found something in my pocket, a domino.'

He catches Danny's confused expression and shake of the head. 'Wait, wait, there's something in this. The domino I found was imperfect, chipped on the side and had a one on its own, nothing else, and well, that summed me pretty much right up. Anyway these past few days I've spent a lot of time in the park, where Chin came, and I was just sitting there watching the old guys play backgammon, draughts, chess and dominoes, and after they finished the game, this guy brushed past me and I thought no more of it till last night when I put my jacket down and something fell out.' Steve reaches into his pocket. 'It's one dot on other side, but it makes the pair, the perfect pair, and god knows I'm as imperfect as they come and you aren't so great yourself but... .' He's fast running out of steam and he could kick himself really. This all seemed like such a good idea and such a clever way to say what he wanted.

'You know something, Steven, super SEAL ninja, just shut up, okay.' There's a look of horror on Steve's face and so it's time to put him out of his misery. 'Just shut up and kiss me, y'diot.'


End file.
